262 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 



highest degree of wisdom in governing and managing the 

 different inhabitants of the hive. This opinion was uni 

 versal until about one hundred and fifty-six years ago, when 

 Svvammerdam, by a series of profound anatomical investi 

 gations, proved that this so-called king was a female, which 

 lays all the eggs necessary to the growth and multiplication 

 of the society she governs, and which accordingly is now 

 called the Queen Bee. Aristotle and Virgil held the opin 

 ion that this bee lays no eggs at all, but only brings home 

 some substance from the flowers and fruits, from which the 

 maggots originated. This opinion, also, was proved erro 

 neous by anatomical investigation ; and to prove its falsity it 

 is only necessary to open the body of the Queen Bee, when 

 several thousand eggs will be found within her. 



The best way of making the acquaintance of the Queen 

 Bee is to divide a new swarm, and put each into a separate 

 hive. The one which is in possession of the queen will 

 soon be contented, and then she can be seen running about 

 at the bottom of the hive entirely alone ; but after a little 

 time about a dozen of the working bees will surround and 

 accompany her, and their number will gradually increase. 

 Some approach her and arc caressed by her proboscis, 

 while others offer her honey with their proboscis, and she 

 licks it off. Reaumure, having divided a swarm in this 

 manner, says that the smaller one, with the queen, worked 

 very negligently for several days, and then swarmed with 

 the queen and placed themselves upon a twig of a tree, prob 

 ably because their number was too small to promise a large 

 progeny. After he had put them into the hive several 

 times, they went off again, and finally united with the bees 

 of a neighboring hive, where they were all massacred. The 

 other swarm, without a queen, seemed to be satisfied at 

 first, several of them going out the following day, but re 

 turning without bringing home any provisions or materials. 

 They remained in this condition six days without making a 



